A view of the current dining area at Terra State Community College, which will be completely remodeled during phase one of the planned renovations of Building B. / Jonathon Bird/News-Messenger

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Employees of KF Construction and Lake Erie Electric work on the inside of the former Child education building at Terra State Community College on Monday. / Jonathon Bird/ News-Messenger

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FREMONT — Terra State Community College is forging ahead with its plans to renovate two of its main buildings, the college’s president said Monday, as the college looks to jump start its new hospitality management program with upgrades to its facilities.

Terra President Jerome Webster showed an artistic rendering of the college’s renovation plans for Building B Monday, with construction already under way at Building G.

Webster said the college is wrapping up the $3 million design phase of its Building B renovation project, which will take place over three phases.

A key component of the Building B renovation will involve the creation of a culinary learning lab for hospitality management students, where they will learn basic cooking procedures.

“We have to do it in phases because we still need to use the building while we’re doing the renovation,” Webster said.

Construction in Building B’s phase two would probably begin in January 2014, Webster said.

Terra also has started its renovation of Building G into a conference center, with that $2.5 million project scheduled for completion by November, Webster said. KF Construction and Excavating of Fremont submitted the low bid on the project and is serving as general contractor.

He said the hospitality management program will use that building as a hub for event planning, with the idea that Terra students could work with businesses and agencies like chambers of commerce to host and plan events at the college.

“Ours is going to be a functional events and conference center,” Webster said.

That Building G project will provide multiple conference rooms and a full kitchen setup, as well as a comprehensive, hands on learning center for hospitality management students.

Dennis Gnage, a hospitality management instructor that assisted in designing the new program, said Building B’s culinary lab will provide students with a good sense of how a kitchen works and industry standards for food preparation.

He said students who graduate from Terra’s program will have a practical experience advantage over students with a business perspective of hospitality management.

Gnage said the renovations and improvements to the buildings would put Terra a step above other schools in the region in attracting hospitality management students.

“I’d be really pleased if we could get up to 80 students,” Gnage said of the program’s enrollment.

Gnage said Terra worked with an advisory board that included representatives from Kalahari Resorts, Catawaba Island, Great Wolf Lodge and other regional destinations in developing its hospitality management program.

He said a 2010 study of tourism’s economic impact on Erie County, which also included tourism’s impact on Sandusky and Ottawa Counties, showed that about 3,000 jobs in Ottawa County and more than 1,800 in Sandusky County were impacted by tourism.

The Ohio Board of Regents officially accepted an updated associate of applied business in hospitality management degree at Terra in October, as the school looked to attract more students from the region in search of careers in the hotel, restaurant and marina industries.

Terra also got approval from the state in January for a bond issuance not to exceed $6 million for the renovations and other Terra improvement projects.

Webster said the college is talking about relocating its admissions and financial aid offices in the future and turning those two units into a one stop center for students.